Glee! The Early Years
by word.whisperings
Summary: Inspired by the episode The Substitute, the Glee kids before they were in New Directions. Some canon elements, but more AU. Please read and review, this is my first multi-chapter story in awhile and first multi-chapter Glee story ever.
1. Chapter 1

Lucy woke up at 7 am Tuesday morning and ran to her parents' bedroom. "Mommy! Daddy! It's the first day of school!" screamed the overeager five year old as she jumped up and down on the bed her mother just made. Judy Fabray simply smiled and glided past her husband into the bathroom. Russell Fabray laughed at his daughter's eagerness and swooped her up into a big hug.

"That's my smart little girl!" he exclaimed. His voice softened as he continued, "All grown up. My little girl is all grown up."

"Daddy!" Lucy giggled hugging back. A minute later she let go of him and decided, "I'm going to wake up Sissy!" She ran down the hallway to torture her older sister. Russell and Judy shared smiles as they heard the screams and laughter coming from Frannie's room.

Gripping her mom's hand, Lucy stood at the bus stop in her new yellow sundress and white shoes. They were the first ones to arrive, and all of a sudden she feared that none of her friends were coming. What if she was on the bus all alone? And it took her to the wrong school? A horrible fantasy played out in her head. The bus driver would be mean and push her off the bus at a spooky looking school. She'd wander inside and look around the hallway and only see mean big kids and scary teachers. When she would find the kindergarten class all the boys would pick on her and all the girls would be mean to her. She'd have no friends! Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when she heard her mom call out, "Hi Susan! Hi Brittany!" All fears vanished and she smiled widely when she saw her best friend in the whole wide world pulling her mom down the street.

Susan Pierce's long legs kept up with her daughter's insistent tugging, but she needed her arm for work later so she let go so her daughter could run and hug her friend. She laughed and waved back to Judy. The women shared a knowing look and stood next to each other as the two little girls chatted like they hadn't seen each other the previous afternoon.

"I like your dress!" Brittany giggled.

"I like yours too!" Lucy replied. They were wearing the same outfit except Brittany had her blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail while Lucy had her dirty blonde, almost brown, hair pushed back off her face with a yellow headband. The previous afternoon, their moms had taken them shopping and allowed them to pick out one outfit for the first day of school. Immediately, their eyes and hands landed on the yellow sundress rack.

The girls had met two years ago at Mommy and Me gymnastics. Russell had encouraged Judy to sign up after a terrifying afternoon when Lucy tried to somersault on the couch and fell splitting her forehead on the glass coffee table. The injury didn't faze the girl though as she continued doing them the next day on the carpet. They were the last pair to sign up before the deadline, and Judy hoped this would dispel some of her daughter's fireball energy. Susan and Brittany had been in the class for a year already, but Brittany's high energy and sudden growth spurts made it difficult for the blonde to keep friends. And heaven forbid if Susan had to adopt another cat that would put up with Brittany pulling its tail and cuddling it! Three had already run away in the past six months. However on the first day of class, Lucy and Brittany sat next to each other and started babbling instantly. No shyness or insecurity ever plagued their friendship. When they both asked their moms if they could have a play date soon, the women breathed sighs of relief and agreed, instantly grateful for the breaks that would be afforded to them by the girls' friendship. During play dates the tall lanky girl and the short petite girl would build up fantastical worlds together.

Just like they were doing now. The two girls held hands and chattered about being princesses who fought ogres in the magical realm of Britcy. Their mothers stood behind and smiled watching them. Judy turned to Susan, "What time did Brittany wake up this morning?"

"6:30," the woman groaned eliciting a sympathetic laugh. "I was taking a shower, and she ran into the bathroom screeching. Fred had just come home from his on call at the hospital too. At least he can sleep while she's at school." She paused smiling. "I just hope this Mr. Scheuster is prepared to handle them, and Noah and Finn," she added as an afterthought remembering the two girls' "not-boyfriends." Brittany had thrown a fit when Susan had called Finn her boyfriend one time.

"I forgot they were in the class too!" Judy exclaimed then chuckled. "This class is going to be quite the handful. He'll probably stop teaching kindergarten after this year!" Susan laughed with her thinking of the Toddler Cheer Squad instructor last year that quit after receiving an offer to coach at McKinley High School. A roaring sound pulled the mothers from their memories and the daughters from Britcy and caused them to look up. Upon seeing the school bus rolling down the street the identically dressed girls jumped up and down. Once again, Judy and Susan sighed simultaneously looking forward to the first kid free day in a while. As the bus stopped at the corner, two little boys pressed their faces against the glass. The mohawked boy stuck his tongue out.

"Noah! You're gross!" the shaggy haired boy giggled. The girls turned around to kiss and hug their moms' goodbye. Judy slid a purple and pink backpack with a monkey on it on Lucy's back before she ran up the steps. Susan slipped a red and tan backpack with a ladybug on it on Brittany's back before allowing her to follow her friend. The doors closed and the women waved as the bus pulled away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As I started writing, I wanted Quinn to be called Lucy, but I'm working out a way to change it. In trying to capture the innocence of the kids, I wanted to keep with their original given names for as long as possible. Please don't get mad at me. :) Review with your opinion if you wish.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Will Scheuster looked down at the final class list he had been handed by the main office secretary on his way to his classroom. Two new names had been added to the list. He'd need to make name tags for their desks and cubbies and rearrange the alphabetical seating chart. He adjusted his ukulele case and briefcase on his arm and strode down the hallway excited to start his first day as a kindergarten teacher.

The vested man had just graduated from college with an accounting degree and two teaching certificates: one in elementary education, the other in Spanish education. The first job to open up in the Lima School System had been for the addition of a kindergarten class so he leapt for it. Luckily, the board had been impressed and hired him. He hated the stigma that a man couldn't teach kindergarten. Better a young energetic man than the old tired women who had interviewed before him.

As he set his briefcase down and pulled out the name and cubby tags his wife had helped him pick out, he studied the student list more carefully taking note of the preferred names in parentheses.

Abrams, Arthur "Artie"

Anderson, Blaine

Berry, Rachel

Chang, Mike

Cohen-Chang, Tina

Evans, Samuel "Sam"

Fabray, Lucy

Hudson, Finn

Hummel, Kurt

Jones, Mercedes

Karofsky, David "Dave"

Lopez, Santana

Pierce, Brittany

Puckerman, Noah

Rutherford, Matthew "Matt"

Zizes, Lauren

Carefully he wrote out the tags for Blaine Anderson and Sam Evans. Two sets of cubbies lined the walls. Will had decided one set would be for the girls and the other for the boys as he fixed the tags on each cubby. His next project was the desks or the two person tables. He hoped that for at least the first month the children would be able to keep their hands to themselves. The tables made a lot of noise as he slid them into two rows of four. So much so that a fellow teacher knocked on the door to ask if he needed help.

"No I'm fine," he replied with a smile. "I'm Will Scheuster though, nice to meet you." He stuck his hand out to the woman dressed in a shirt and shorts with a whistle around her neck. Her only acknowledgement to her gender was the red lipstick painted on her lips and her permed hair.

"Shannon Beiste or Coach Beiste as the kids call me," she replied with a smile and a firm handshake. "I wrangle the rugrats in Phys. Ed. I'm sure you've seen that the gym is at the end of the hallway. Come down whenever you'd like."

"I will, thanks!" he beamed. _His first teacher friend! _he exclaimed internally.

"I'll let you finish setting up. The buses will be arriving in 10 minutes, and I get to help them find their classrooms," Beiste said as she walked out the door. Will looked up at the clock above the doorway. _Ten minutes? Shoot!_ He rushed to finish setting up the room, so he could stand in the doorway when Coach Beiste and the rest of the bus duty teachers brought his 16 kids down the hall.

* * *

><p>Rachel Berry stood between her dads Leroy and Hiram at the bus stop. They squeezed her hands tightly as she waited anxiously for the bus. When Burt and Elizabeth Hummel walk down the street holding their son Kurt's hands. Rachel sings out a hello. Kurt replies in the same way. The adults release their children as they run to hug each other. They had attended toddler singing camp together the past two summers and had lived 3 houses away their whole lives. Their parents encouraged the friendship and the talent each had and often joked how they were going to be married one day and have an entire singing family. "The children will have beautiful voices," Elizabeth would always remark.<p>

"I like your outfit Rachel," Elizabeth told the tiny brunette. She always wanted a daughter but with the onset of ovarian cancer shortly after Kurt's birth. The doctor had removed her fallopian tubes to hopefully stop the progression.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hummel," the little girl beamed sweetly twirling to make the black skirt circle around her. She was also wearing a red sweater with a kitten on it and black shoes. Her dark hair was pulled into low pigtails. As the bus rumbled up the hill to their stop, Rachel grabbed her black and red lady bug backpack and hugged her dads.

Burt helped Kurt put on his Power Rangers back pack before he hugged his son tightly. Elizabeth gave him a kiss on the forehead and a long hug. "Our kids are all grown up!" Elizabeth exclaimed to the other men. Hiram wiped a tear from his eye and nodded.

"Mommy, I'm five!" Kurt said dramatically putting his hand on his hip. "I'll be all grown up when I'm seven." This caused the adults to laugh.

"Well, you're my big little man regardless," she said straightening the bow tie he insisted on wearing. "He picked this outfit all by himself this morning," she noted to the Berry's, gesturing to the blue shirt, white bow tie, black pants and black shoes. The men nodded very much impressed. If they let Rachel pick out her clothes, she'd be wearing her princess or ballerina costume every day.

The bus stopped, and the kids clambered up the steps. "Mercedes!" they both shouted upon seeing their third friend from Tots Sing sitting next to her neighbor Matt Rutherford. As the doors closed, Kurt and Rachel sat in the seat in front of them and waved to their parents as the bus drove down the street.

The bus ride to school excited all four of them. Mercedes' older brother had patiently described it to them on their last play date, but experiencing it was completely different. Rachel sat nervously for the first thirty seconds because they didn't have seatbelts. Kurt reassured her by linking their arms together. Mercedes and Matt both leaned forward so they could talk all together. They wondered what their teacher would be like, and all stammered trying to pronounce his name. Matt asked if they would have homework. Rachel wondered if they would get to sing. Kurt and Mercedes wondered if they would get to sit by each other.

At the next stop, Kurt stood on the seat so he could analyze his friends clothing. Mercedes was in jeans and a giraffe shirt with her wild hair in a head band. Matt had on jeans as well with an Ohio State football jersey on top of it. "Why are you wearing a giraffe shirt?" Kurt pointedly asked his friend.

"I like giraffes," she shrugged. Her gaze distracted by a new boy stepping onto the bus. She whispered to her friends, "He just moved here. His name is Blaine. Mommy and Daddy took me over to his house to welcome him to the neighborhood last week." They watched as Blaine sat two seats in front of them. "Hey Blaine!" she called out. He whirled his curly haired head around to see the four five-year-olds smiling at him. Mercedes gestured to the seat across from her, "Come sit by us!" The boy beamed and stood up. Kurt noted that he was wearing corduroys and a green polo shirt and instantly approved. He slid into the seat across from Mercedes and Matt. Mercedes moved to slide in next to him since Matt's best friend, Mike Chang, had also just gotten onto the bus.

"Thanks Mercedes," the skinny Asian kid said shyly. The bus started moving before he sat down, and he fell against Matt.

"We were supposed to match today!" Matt said once Mike adjusted himself into the plastic seat. His friend was wearing a blue and black striped polo shirt.

"I know," he grumbled, "but Mom said that I had to be dressed nicely for the first day of school."

"It's okay, dude." Matt patted his back, knowing how moms could be.

Shortly after the bus had picked the two boys up, everyone on the bus was being let off at the front of the school. Kurt linked arms with Mercedes and Rachel as they stood in front of the flag pole with Blaine, Matt, and Mike. A slightly imposing woman with a kind smile stepped up to the group and introduced herself, "I'm Coach Beiste. Let's go find your classroom!" The kids all beamed up at her, excited for the school day to start.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know it's a quick update, but I saw the story alerts in my email and became really excited and inspired. Also, all the backpacks (except Kurt's) I found through a google search. That's also how I found Mike's polo shirt. And a shirt we sell where I work inspired Mercedes giraffe shirt. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if so please :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Bus 45 pulled up in front of George Washington Elementary School. Emma Pillsbury nervously eyed the kids peaking out of the windows. Statistically speaking children between the ages of 5 and 10 were very messy and had no true concept of germs. Speaking of which, was that boy on Bus 23 licking the window? She shuddered and wondered why she accepted the position of guidance counselor at this school and why she just didn't wait until the high school one opened. Luckily Miss Holiday, the music teacher, had full responsibility of Bus 23, and the Bus 45 kids were all seemingly well behaved as they piled off the bus. "Kindergarteners!" she called out as a few older kids walked past her and into the school. "Kindergarteners!" she repeated as a high energy, spectacled little boy in khaki pants, a red button down shirt, and saddle shoes ran up to her and smiled. "And what's your name?" she asked sweetly but warily.

"Artie Abrams!" he continued beaming and gripped the straps on his dinosaur backpack while slightly rocking. Miss Pillsbury checked his name off her list and turned to the bulky boy standing next to him. He tugged shyly at his green and yellow striped shirt like he was trying to get it cover more of his dark jeans.

He barely looked up from his tennis shoes as he stated, "I'm Dave Karofsky," to the red-haired faculty member who ticked his name off the list. Emma noticed that a circle had formed around her as she turned to an Asian girl dressed in a bright pink and white striped dress with matching pink shoes. She glanced up at her bashfully, but at least continued to look at the guidance counselor as she stumbled through her name, "Tina Cohen-Chang." Emma placed another small precise check mark on her list of students and noted that these last three kids must be Lauren, Santana, and Sam. She checked their names off the list preemptively before making sure who was who. The slightly chubby brown haired girl with big glasses turned out to be Lauren Zizes. The loud colors that made up her outfit matched her loud personality, as she was the one who introduced the older woman to her best friend, Santana Lopez.

"We live in Lima Heights Adjacent together. We've been neighbors our whole lives. Our daddies work in the same hospital," Lauren explained. Santana nodded along. Her black hair had been pushed back into a head band that had fallen forward from her nodding. She and Lauren were both wearing bright red Chuck Taylors and matching denim skirts. While Lauren's bright pink and green striped shirt made her stand out, Santana wore a subtler brown and white shirt decorated at the collar with sequins. Their physical attributes highly clashed, but their personalities definitely complemented each other, Emma noted as the girls linked arms and started whispering to each other. She finally turned to the last boy who looked even shyer than Dave. His dirty blonde mop of hair covered his down cast eyes, and his hands were shoved deep into his jean pockets. He was wearing a vintage Flash shirt.

Emma cautiously squatted down in her green skirt and cardigan to ask the boy, "Your name is Sam Evans, right?" The boy only scuffed his white tennis shoes a little. Emma restrained herself from wiping the dirt off. "I'm Miss Pillsbury. I'll be taking you to your kindergarten classroom. Would you like to be line leader?" Santana, Artie, and Lauren grumbled at this. A few minutes passed, and the petite teacher was ready to just stand up and lead them inside.

However, the little boy finally looked up to say, "Sam Evans 'oH pongwIj'e'**" **Everyone stared at him wide eyed. Miss Pillsbury slowly straightened herself out amazed at the little boy. _Did he just speak Klingon?_ It now made sense that he had a Star Trek backpack, but she would have to schedule special time with him to pull him out of his shell and convince him to speak in English.

"Okay kids line up behind Sam! Let's go meet Mr. Scheuster!" Emma said cheerily before leading the way into the building and down the kindergarten/gymnasium wing.

* * *

><p>Will broke out into a huge smile as Coach Bieste led his first group of pupils down the hall. "Alright kids!" she beamed back at Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt, Mike, Matt, and Blaine. "I drop you off here! Behave for Mr. Scheuster!" They filed into the classroom, as Bieste patted Will's arm and headed back down the hallway to pick up her next group. Will followed his kids into the room and helped them put their backpacks into their respective cubbies. He led them to the big carpet and pulled out puzzles and coloring books with crayons for them to play with as they waited for the rest of their class. He crouched on the carpet in between Blaine and Matt angled so he could see the doorway. The teacher couldn't help but notice that they instinctively sat in a circle and hoped this suggested that the class as a whole would get along well. He smiled as Kurt helped Blaine with a penguin puzzle, Mercedes and Rachel colored Disney Princesses, and Mike and Matt tried to combine two sports puzzles into one since they couldn't seem to agree on which one to play with first (<em>That's one way to compromise<em>, Mr. Scheuster thought).

The clack of heels against tile startled the young teacher from his observations. A woman about his age stood at the door way with 6 more kids. "Mr. Scheuster, I'm Miss Pillsbury, guidance counselor, and these are some more of your pupils," she stated formally. Emma had had a slight panic attack on the way down the hall when Artie picked his nose and wiped his hands on his pants. "I will talk to you in further detail about a habit one of your students has, but I first need to go wash my hands," she said in a hushed tone, not wanting to draw too much attention to Sam's Klingon issue. "It will also be very nice to get to know you more then," she flashed her perfect white teeth in a gorgeous smile.

"You too!" Will called as she walked back down the hallway and into the girl's bathroom. "Okay guys! Let's find your cubbies!" He turned to his latest students just to find they had already joined the other kids on the rug. Their backpacks had been abandoned on the floor. He grabbed his class list and the bus sheet to deduce the new five-year-olds names. "Artie Abrams!" he shouted out first. The little boy in glasses coloring race cars with a shaggy haired boy in a Flash shirt ran over to him. _Maybe he should be wearing the Flash shirt_, Will chuckled to himself. "Pick up your backpack and I'll show you your cubby!" he instructed enthusiastically. Artie beamed up at him and obliged finding it awesome that he had the first cubby on the boys' side. "Tina Cohen-Chang!" he shouted after Artie returned to the rug. "You're next up in the game 'Find Your Cubby!'" If he was working with any other student group, they would've found it corny, but all of the kindergartners just laughed at him. Tina walked up shyly, holding a backpack as big as her against her chest.

"Tina! We're cubby neighbors!" Rachel exclaimed clapping her hands enthusiastically. Tina smiled widely at her and then ran back to join her and Mercedes in coloring the cartoon princesses.

Will couldn't help but pat himself on the back for how well the students were getting along so far. But then he called for Sam Evans. While the dirty blonde Flash shirt wearing boy had been sitting next to Artie, he hadn't been interacting with him. He had been carefully coloring in the space coloring book and barely made eye contact with his teacher as he picked up his backpack and placed it into the cubby next to Mike Chang's. Mr. Scheuster wondered if this was the student Miss Pillsbury wanted to discuss with him. He decided to probe the boy a little further to make sure. "Is the Flash your favorite superhero, Sam?"

"HISlaH" the small boy nodded. Will raised an eyebrow thoroughly confused but simply patted him on the shoulder and let him resume coloring. The rest of the kids had overheard this exchange and looked in wonderment at their classmate. Sam smiled at the attention and resumed coloring like nothing strange had happened at all. Will shook his head and called off the next name on the list, "Dave Karofsky!" The bulky boy was shy as well but at least looked at his teacher and smiled before sitting next to Mike and the other boy whose name Will guessed was Matt and shoving more mismatched pieces together for a football puzzles. "Santana Lopez!" Will shouted next. The bubbly Hispanic girl jumped up from her spot between another girl (_Lauren_ Will reasoned) and Mercedes.

"I colored this for you, Mr. Shhh-youuuuu-st-st-st-st-steer!" she stumbled through his name. _Maybe he should shorten it, most of the other kids were having trouble with it as well, _Will debated as he gently took the picture of a worm inside of an apple from Santana. Will beamed about ready to tear up.

"That was very sweet of you, Santana!" Will patted the girl's head and helped place her backpack into the cubby adjacent to Mercedes'. "Next up Matt Rutherford!" The teacher drum rolled on his thighs much to his students' amusement. Deftly, he pushed himself off of the floor between Mike and Dave and strutted over with his backpack.

He smiled up at the older man and insisted, "I can put it away all by myself!" He had the last cubby in the boys' section right next to the door. Will peaked out the doorway to check if his last four students had arrived yet but stepped out into the hall when he heard singing. A tall woman with straight platinum blonde hair was walking backwards and leading the kids in a round of the Wheels on the Bus. He chuckled and stepped back into the doorway.

"Okay Lauren your turn before our classroom is complete!" Lauren marched over to him with her fluorescent backpack and stuck it into the last girls' cubby. She resumed her spot with the rest of the coloring girls as Miss Holiday strolled in with Lucy, Brittany, Noah, and Finn.

"Sorry, we had a little too much fun singing the hallway, so we went kind of slow to make it last longer!" the woman smiled widely at her co-worker. "I'm Miss Holiday, the long term music sub for Mrs. Cochran while she's on her leave of absence."

"Mr. Scheuster," the man replied shaking her hand. "Thanks for keeping them entertained in the hallway. I guess I'll see you in music class?"

"I guess you will," she replied with a smirk before leaving the room singing the Wheels on the Bus.

The last two girls and two boys formed a half circle around him. The girls held hands tightly and smiled up at him, while the boys shoved each other playfully. "Hands to ourselves please!" Mr. Scheuster warned.

"Yes, Mr. Shuu-, Shuu-, Shu-ee-ster?" the taller boy replied stumbling over his name like his fellow classmates had before. _They only seemed to get the "Sheu" part right_, he mused. "I'm Finn and this is Noah." The mohawked boy jerked his head upwards.

"Let me show you your cubbies," Will smiled. The group of four followed him. "Okay, Noah and Finn, you can go play on the rug while I help Lucy and Brittany." The girls both frowned when they realized other cubbies separated theirs, but upon spotting coloring books they both perked up and joined the rest of the girls.

Will glanced at the big clock above the door way – 8:30. He would give them 10 more minutes to become acquainted with each other then they would start the day.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I haven't seen **_Daddy Day Care_** in years, but I strongly remember the little boy who only spoke Klingon in it. I had to make Sam that boy in the story. I don't know Klingon that well, so I googled the simple phrases "I am" and "Yes." As per twilight2892**'s suggestion, I will be adding Jesse into the mix somehow within the next few chapters. If there are any other characters you would like to see, leave a review : ) It will make me giggle like a 5 year old…********


	4. Chapter 4

Will Scheuster pulled his ukulele out of his case and strummed it a few times before starting to sing, "It's time to pick the toys up now / Toys up now, / Toys up now./ It's time to pick the toys up now / Let's see who does the best." He repeated the song a few times while the boys competed to see who would put the puzzles away fastest and the girls carefully shoved crayons back into their boxes. Noah seemed to be throwing random pieces into random boxes while Finn and Kurt sorted them out. Sam and Dave withdrew from the harried rush to help the girls stack and carry the coloring books to the toy bin. Lucy, Rachel, Brittany, and Tina blushed and giggled at the help that the other girls didn't seem to notice. By the time everything had been organized in the bin, Mercedes, Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, and Santana had started singing with him. "Everyone sing!" he called out before playing the Mary Had a Little Lamb chords one last time. Finn and Noah both had clean voices albeit a little shaky. Dave's and Mike's voices were high pitched and hesitant. Matt, Artie, and Lauren sang loudly. Tina, Brittany, and Lucy sang strongly while dancing in a circle with Rachel. All the kids seemed to enjoy that so they pushed their way in as well. Sam finally joined in on the game but wasn't singing just smiling widely.

"And sit!" their teacher shouted as he finished the last chord. He perched on the chair behind the gap between Rachel and Finn. "Do you guys like singing?"

"YES!" the group, minus Sam, yelled. He just smiled and pointed to his teacher's instrument.

"This is my little friend who's going to help lead our day! He's a ukulele. I'm going to pass him around the room but be gentle." He handed the small guitar-like instrument to Finn who stared at it reverently with Noah.

"Mr. Schuuuu," Noah crinkled his face up, "Schuuu-easter?"

"How about you guy all call me Mr. Shoe like what you wear on one foot?" he suggested pointing to his left foot. The entire class sighed.

"Okay, Mr. Shoe," Noah boldly continued, "how did you learn to play him?"

"Years of practice," he smiled. "Miss Holiday in music class will help you learn the basics of playing instruments. I'm just here to sing silly songs with."

"Mr. Shoe, I liked your clean up song!" Mercedes said and the rest of the class nodded.

"Well, that's good to know!" Mr. Shoe mentally sighed in relief that he had picked a good first song. As the ukulele was passed through the 16 sets of hands, he went on to explain what they would be learning this year. Starting next week, we're going to learn 2 letters of the alphabet. But this week, it's going to be all about learning about each other!" the teacher continued cheerily. "Each of you will have an assigned seat with a table buddy who will learn about in our first project. So let's buddy up!" The kids stood up and started to go to the desks. "No, no, no, no, no!" he laughed. "I'm going to tell you who your buddy is." He pulled out his class list with a flourish and skipped over to the first table as the kids giggled at how silly their teacher was acting. "At table 1, drum roll, Finn!" Finn pounded on the table in front of him. "Artie and Blaine!" The two boys high fived and sat down. "At table 2, Rachel and Mike!" Mike looked shyly down at his shoes and he slid in to the seat next to the small girl. "Table 3, Tina and Sam!" They both glanced at each other before sitting down. Sam mumbled something in Klingon before smiling at the girl. Tina just smiled back uncertainly. "Table 4, Lucy and Finn!" The two clapped their hands and sat down eagerly. Will moved to the back row and placed his hand on table 5. "Kurt and Mercedes come on down!" The two held hands and walked back to their teacher. The remaining 6 kids huddled around the last tables trying to read the names on the tags.

"That's my name!" Santana exclaimed jumping into her seat at table 6.

"Good job, Santana!" Mr. Scheuster replied. "And Dave will be sitting next you!" The boy sat down and bit his lip. His older brother had told him that all girls except for Mommies had cooties. Could he get cooties by sitting next to a girl? "And right across from you will be Brittany." The blonde girl giggled and sat down. "And her partner will be Noah!" Noah high fived his friend.

"So that means me and Matt sit here, right?" Lauren asked as she sat down on Matt's side of the table.

"Well, yes," Mr. Shoe smiled, "but you're one seat over, right next to the window like Finn." He strode back to his desk and pulled out a stack of construction paper. He gave each student the color of his or her choice as he explained the project to draw something his or her table buddy likes on the construction paper the other student had picked. After noticing that most of the girls, except Lucy and Brittany, had picked pink he resolved to buy more pink paper after school. The boys look disgruntled to have to draw on pink paper, but they did as they were told. After setting the boxes of crayons on each table, he let the kids have at it and watched in fascination as they babbled to each other about what they liked. Artie and Blaine chatted about games they liked. Rachel told Mike all about performing and jumped on the opportunity to tell him all about her dance class when the little boy mumbled, "I like to dance." Tina and Sam kind of stared at each other. Tina would say something in English. Sam would reply in Klingon. Then Tina would repeat herself in Korean. The cycle continued until Tina gave up and started drawing the Flash off of Sam's shirt. Lucy and Finn had known each other for a couple of years so they started drawing right away and talked about other things as they drew. Kurt and Mercedes gossiped while drawing having known each other for a while as well. Santana recited her whole list of things she liked as Dave stared at the construction paper afraid of the loud girl next to him. Brittany and Noah laughed at each other's drawing as they tried to draw the other's favorite things. Finally, Matt listened intently as Lauren chattered about her last toddler pageant and how many pull ups she could do. The students fiercely drew and colored their pictures. A few minor fights broke out over sharing crayons. Lucy started smacking Finn at one point when he took the purple, and Lauren punched Matt in the arm after he took the blue from her side of the desk. But the boys laughed it off.

"It's okay, Mr. Shoe. She's just a girl," Finn teased, while Matt shrugged it off but subconsciously kept gently rubbing his tricep. When the bell rang for lunch, all the kids jumped out of their seats startled by the noise.

"Everyone get your lunch boxes out of your backpacks and line up at the door with a buddy," Mr. Shoe instructed. "We'll go to the bathroom first to wash our hands and then to the cafeteria." Coach Beiste showed up at the doorway as the kids were lining up. Blaine and Kurt were the first in line, followed by Lucy and Brittany, then Santana and Mercedes. Finn and Noah pushed in front of Mike and Matt to get the next spot. Mike and Matt reluctantly allowed the cut with Rachel and Lauren close behind them. Artie and David filtered in behind. And Tina and Sam ended the pack. Will followed them to the door after grabbing his own lunch. "Hey Coach Beiste! Are you venturing to lunch with us?"

"Yes, I am. For this week, I am your lunch buddy. Afterwards, we get to let the rugrats eat by themselves," she smiled widely at the kids. Lauren looked up at the woman in awe.

She leaned over and whispered to Rachel, "I want to be her when I grow up!" Rachel shushed her as they started walking down the hallway. After stopping at the bathroom and settling a fight over spots in line, Mr. Scheuster's Kindergarten Class made it into the cafeteria. They all sat at a long table. Most of the boys sat on one end while the girls sat on the other. Kurt and Sam bridged the gap in between. Kurt did so so he could talk to both Blaine and Mercedes while Sam wanted to so he could hear Tina speak the strange language she was speaking earlier again and because Artie insisted they sit next to each other. Will and Shannon sat a few seats down from the 5 year olds silently observing them.

Lucy and Brittany sat next to each other while Santana and Lauren sat across from them. However, it was obvious that Santana and Brittany were bonding pretty quickly. The whole class was bonding quickly, but that was the magic of kindergarten – everyone was a friend. Lunch wrapped up with no major incidents. They lined up and headed back to the classroom. Coach Beiste reminded Mr. Shoe that they had Physical Education outside in a half hour. The whole class cheered about that. After setting their lunchboxes back into their cubbies and finding their chairs again.

"Before we head down to the gym, we're going to explain our pictures. Everyone will stand up and explain their drawings. Artie, would you like to go first and then we'll wind our way around the room?"

"I sure would Mr. Shoe!" the boy squeaked and scrambled to the front of the room. He held up his picture proudly in front of his face. "Blaine likes a lot of really cool things like football and video games and pizza, but he also likes birds and I'm really good at drawing birds so I drew a bird in the tree singing!" Artie continued to beam his adorable smile and returned to his seat. Blaine stepped to the front as the teacher beckoned him forward.

"Artie likes running, trampolines, video games, and watching his daddy play guitar. So I drew him jumping on a trampoline with a guitar!" the curly haired boy explained. "I can't draw, even if I could read a how to draw book, but I tried my best!"

"That's all that you needed to do for the assignment," the older man smiled down at him. "Alright, Rachel!"

The smallest girl in the class flounced to the front of the room. "Mike likes football, rice, and dancing. So, because I like to dance as well, I drew him dancing with me!" She pointed out the two stick figures with big heads. "That's him because he has a bowtie like Kurt. And that's me because I have a pretty tutu." Mike looked bashfully to the floor. The kids giggled a little but quieted down when Mike shuffled up front. They all strained to listen to him.

"I just wanna dance, but not with a girl. Sorry Rachel."

"Mike, can you speak a little louder. That way everyone can hear you. Pretend you're just speaking to Matt who's in the back row." Mike beamed up at his best friend and continued.

"Rachel likes a lot of things. But I draw horses best and Rachel's favorite stuffed animal is a unicorn which is a cool horse with a horn." He pointed out to all the details and then ran back to his seat.

Tina came forward next after Mr. Shoe's coaxing. "Sam likes superheroes like the Flash. I mean, he has on the t-shirt so I think he does." She ran back to her seat, and Sam stood up. He held up a picture proudly of a kitten chasing a bubble. Tina had told him that she loves blowing bubbles for her cat to pop, but no one in the class understood that because Sam babbled in Klingon and then tried to mimic the Korean she had spoken earlier. "_That boy has an ear for languages,"_ Will mused and debated if incorporating Spanish in the lesson plan was a good idea. After Sam finished, Lucy ran to the front and proudly displayed a picture of Finn wearing a Cleveland Browns jersey.

"Finn likes football and wants to be the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns one day even though Daddy says that the Pittsburgh Steelers are better," she stated factually and quickly and ran back to her seat. The tall boy next to her stood up clumsily and strode to the front.

"Lucy likes the color yellow and ducks, so I drew a yellow duck which was hard on the yellow paper." He shuffled back to the front as both Lauren and Kurt stood up at the same time and ran to the front. The class laughed as they stared each other down; the baby pull-up champion not at all intimidated the smaller boy.

"Both of you can stay up here, but Kurt will explain his picture first and then you will Lauren, okay? After that it will be Mercedes turn, then Dave and we'll go through the row," Mr. Shuester interrupted the show down hoping he found a good solution.

"Fine," the bigger girl conceded. Kurt step forward with a smile.

"Mercedes likes singing and giraffes. I can't draw a giraffe, so I drew her singing on a stage." Mercedes clapped her hands and hugged her friend as he sat back down. Lauren held up her picture as she stepped into Kurt's spot.

"Matt likes his doggy, Rover, so I drew them playing," Lauren smiled and kept standing up front.

"Okay, Lauren, you can sit down now. Good job!" Mr. Shoe finally said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you Mr. Shoe!" She pranced back as Mercedes stepped up front.

"Kurt likes picking out clothes with his mommy and making food with his daddy, so I drew two pictures of him clothes shopping with his mommy and cooking breakfast with his daddy," Mercedes pointed to the two halves of the paper then ran back to her seat to, once again, hug her friend. Dave shuffled to the front his picture held facing his knees.

He murmured, "Santana likes –"

"Dave, would you mind holding up the picture and speaking up?" Mr. Shoe asked gently. Dave obliged and turned around his picture to hold directly in front of his face so he couldn't see his classmates.

"Santana likes doing gymnastics and tumbling down the hill behind her house. This is her on the hill," he stumbled over his words muffled by the paper and then ran back to his desk. Santana skipped to the front.

"Dave likes football and winter time," she explained and then pointed to the picture. "This is him building a snowman." Brittany high fived her new friend as she walked to the front.

"Noah likes teasing Lucy and me with Finn, and he likes snakes. Snakes are easy to draw so I drew a snake." She pointed to the squiggly line that covered the page. The class politely clapped as she sat back down.

"Last but certainly not least, Matt!" Mr. Shoe ushered the last boy forward.

"Lauren's a tough girl. She can do like a million pull-ups. So that's what I drew," he smiled and returned back to the table.

"Alright! Good job everyone! Who's ready for gym class outside?"

"Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!" the kids all screamed (except Sam obviously who made some excited noise that Will took as a yes.) They all lined up at the door and marched down the hall into the gym. Coach Beiste let them loose on the playground. After playtime was over, they headed back to the classroom for more free time until pick up. They were supposed to have art class, but Brenda Cassel, the art teacher, had flaked during her lunch. As he helped his students into their backpacks and escorted them to their buses. Will felt his heart lift immensely. He just completed his first day as a kindergarten teacher! Life was good.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry for the delay. Work was really stressful, and it was hard finding the patience to sit and write. I have a feeling I've been spelling Scheuster wrong, sorry about that. I'm spelling his shortened name phonetically because I think that's how most kindergarteners would picture it. I was rewatching a few season 1 episodes and so was inspired to put Brenda Cassel, kind of, in and I have a small idea how I'm incorporating Jesse. (Soon I promise!) **Geech42 **suggested I do a chapter on each friendship, and that helped me remember the purpose I had when I first scribbled the first chapter in my notebook, so I'll start doing that too soon most likely. I hope the somewhat long chapter makes up for the delay. Please review : ) All the story alerts/favorites/reviews have been amazing!**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Berry Back to School Backyard Party Extravaganza! Part 1**

"Rachel, remember to hand this envelope to Mr. Shoe when you get to school. We already called to speak with him, so he knows that these are back to school party invitations for all of your classmates. Just remember to leave it in your backpack until you get to school. Understand?" Leroy Berry asked his daughter. Hiram laughed at his husband.

"I think she's got it after all you've told her four times already, and you called Mr. Shceuster twice this week!"

"I just want this party to go off without a hitch. It's important that she becomes well liked with her kindergarten friends so she can build a solid friendship with someone to last through high school," Leroy huffed.

"No, you just want to upstage the St. James' back to fall dance class party," Hiram said pointedly. His husband sulked but made no point to deny it. Rachel climbed on the bus with her classmates after kissing her dads goodbye. On the bus, she gushed to her friends all about the big party her dads were throwing. The news quickly spread to the rest of the class as they all placed their backpacks in their cubbies. The tiny girl handed the envelope to Mr. Shoe who held onto it while they discussed the letter B in class.

On the playground out of Coach Bieste's watchful eye, Noah sought out Rachel. He spotted the girl laughing on the swings with Artie. Noah strode over and shoved the other boy out of the way with a scowl. Rachel didn't notice until she felt bigger hands higher on the back. She swiveled her head to see the mohawked boy, "What do you want, Noah?"

"I need to know some information about this party." He pushed her higher than Artie could, and Rachel giggled at the flying sensation. "What kind of juice do you guys got?"

"Daddy is making his special punch." Rachel grunted as her back collided with the taller boy's front, and he grabbed her to stop.

"Do you mean the disgusting sugar free red juice that he serves at temple?" He moved to stand in front of her as she started to kick her legs out to swing again.

"It's not disgusting, Noah!" she retorted haughtily kicking against the boy's legs.

"Um, yeah, it is. Have you never had real sugar juice before Berry?" The little girl shook her head.

"Dad and Daddy say it makes children too hyper and unable to focus on the joys of life."

Noah scoffed and brought his face close to hers. "It makes life brighter when you're running around on the sugar high. Trust me, Rachel."

She looked up at him and asked, "How are we going to put sugar in the punch though?"

In true Noah Puckerman fashion, the boy smirked and said, "I got it covered." He then strutted back to the soccer field and shouted, "Are we going to play this game or what?" Finn, Mike, Matt, Blaine, Artie, Lauren, and Tina. Rachel stopped swinging to teeter-totter with Mercedes, Santana, and Kurt until Coach Bieste called them all inside. By the end of the day she had forgotten all about Noah's proposition.

* * *

><p>Leroy and Hiram went all out when decorating their backyard for the back to school bash. The small playground set had been polished. The bushes and trees displayed an array of neon colored streamers. The food had been ordered from a catering company a week ago and boasted a feast of children's favorites along with some adult friendly options. The smorgasbord had been set out decoratively on a long table that ended with a decorative plastic punch bowl filled with the traditional Berry Secret Punch and a cooler full of bottled water. And finally between two trees a banner had been hung, "The Berry Back to School Backyard Party Extravaganza!"<p>

The invitation's requested an arrival time of 1 pm, and by 1:15, all of Rachel's classmates had arrived. The mothers sat easily at one table keeping an eye on their children and gossiping while the fathers stood awkwardly in one corner of the garden discussing their wives' reaction to their kids going to school. "You'd think she'd be happy to get our little diva out of the house," Tony Jones commented. "We've already gone through this with the older ones, and to listen to her complain about how Cedes is always in her hair! But no. All day, it's 'my baby's all grown up! I'm so old! We should have another one!' Not that I mind what happens on the nights when she's convinced she wants another." The man winked as his peers laughed. "But then she changes her mind about it when Cedes comes home from school and starts terrorizing her brothers."

"Julie wants more," Ben Evans cuts in. "She wasn't sure after all the complications with Sam. So we're trying again. We just have a deal this time. I'm not allowed to let them watch Star Trek, and she has to agree to put them in some sort of playgroup. Sammy's a smart kid if he can learn Klingon, and he obviously enjoys being around other kids, but he doesn't get that they don't speak the way he speaks."

Andrew Cohen-Chang laughs, "We had the same problem with Tina when she was in pre-school. She kept speaking Korean. He'll grow out of it. At least it looks like our two bilinguals are getting along." He pointed to the two kids trying to communicate over the alligator teeter-totter.

"No wonder I haven't been able to understand some of the words he's been saying," Ben mused aloud. "He's speaking Korean."

"And Tina's starting on Klingon," Andrew added. He then turned to the other man and with a playful punch, "If your little boy hurts my baby in any way…" Ben and the rest of the men laughed.

"Well, the Puckerman kid has convinced most of the boys that girls have cooties anyway, so I doubt that will be a problem," Paul Karofsky interjected. "Dave threw a fit when the babysitter came over on Thursday night."

"Where is Eli Puckerman anyway?" Dijon Rutherford asked with his eyes trained on his son and his friends pretending to be fighter jets.

"He ran out again," Hiram Berry stated as he walked into the cluster of men. "Erica's heartbroken. She's expecting another child," he continued in hushed tones. Collectively the men became enraged at the idea of leaving a pregnant woman.

"Abeoji, abeoji!" Sam and Tina screamed as they ran to their respective fathers. The two had been sitting at a table drinking punch and conversing. Andrew lifted his daughter up over his head, and Ben pretended to be tackled by his son.

"What's up pudding cup?" Andrew asked.

"Can Sam come over and play sometime?" she asked with wide eyes and a huge smile.

"Of course princess!" the man replied setting her down. The kids ran off.

"So when are you going to set the date? I hear Lima Country Club has its wedding calendar open for reservations up until 2020," Burt Hummel laughed.

* * *

><p>"Jesse, remember to play nice with Rachel and her friends. I know you're older than they are, but Mr. and Mr. Berry invited us, so it's only polite," Maria St. James reminded her son as he pulled up a chunk of grass from the Berry's front lawn. "What in the world are you doing?"<p>

"Looking for worms," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him towards the Berry's back gate. Her watch read 1:35. Fashionably late as usual, she smiled to herself smoothing her skirt down. Hiram Berry forced a smile as he greeted the mother and son. Leroy pushed his way past his husband and beamed at them.

"How are you doing today Maria? And Jesse? I guess Patrick won't be joining us today?"

"I'm fine, darling. Jesse's his usual lovable self. He's already the smartest boy in his class! The teacher told me so herself. 'I've never had a brighter student!' I'm so proud of my little boy!" she rubbed his head. Hiram Berry turned his back and tried not to gag. "And no Patrick had to work again." She grabbed Leroy by the arm and pushed Jesse away from her. "Tell me Leroy, how do you keep Hiram around all the time? He's always there when you need him…"

Jesse wandered over to where Rachel and a bunch of other girls and a couple of boys were sitting in a circle playing down by the bank. A Hispanic looking girl was patiently explaining the concept to a blonde girl with a bright yellow duck headband. He sighed and forced his way into the circle in between Rachel and a black girl.

"Hi Jesse!" she beamed at him. "Let me introduce you to everyone!" She pointed around the circle. "You're sitting next to Mercedes who's sitting next to Kurt, then Blaine, then Tina, then Sam, then Santana, then Brittany, then Lucy, and Lauren."

"Hi girls," he smiled at them. "So are we playing this or what?" The group stopped staring at him and placed their hands in the appropriate position. Santana and Lucy helped Brittany, and Kurt started them off.

"Down by the banks of the hanky panky where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky with an eep eep ipe ipe ope ope bop jump on the middle with a kerplop! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!" the kids all sang out, except for Sam who hummed along. Lauren was the first one out. She declared the game to be stupid and ran off to play bug Noah and Finn. The game continued. Most of the girls scooted out of the circle and watched when called out. Blaine ran over to the trampoline to learn how to do flips with Artie. Kurt braided Brittany's hair while she discussed how her new kitty, Lord Tubbington. The final round came down to Santana and Jesse. Santana untwisted her legs so she could kneel and match the older boy in height. He smirked at her as Lucy started the song. As they began to count down, determination flashed in both of their eyes, but when Santana's fist failed to meet Jesse's hand, the never before seen wrath of Santana Lopez made its presence known.

"Estupido, estupido, estupido!" she cried out. "Este juego es estupido!" Marisol Lopez heard her daughter's tantrum and walked over calmly.

"Mija, what did we discuss?" she spoke soothingly to her daughter. "We can't win everything, but we can be the better person. Now say I'm sorry and go back to playing with your friends. Okay? Te quiero."

"Te quiero, Mama," she whispered wiping tears from her eyes. Her mother gave her one last hug. The girl walked dejectedly over to Jesse. "Good game."

"You too!" he replied. "Don't worry, in 2 years you'll be as good as me." He winked and swaggered over to the play set that had been turned into a pirate ship by Matt and Finn.

"Ugh, he's become so weird since he started second grade!" Rachel lamented falling dramatically onto the grass.

"I think he's cute," Lucy said picking at grass.

"Yeah, if you want cooties," giggled Brittany.

"You know cooties aren't real, right?" asked Kurt

"They so are!" Mercedes defended Brittany. "My brother Marcus told me so, and he's in 6th grade!"

"Okay, so if cooties are real, then why do you girls hang out with me? I'm a boy. How come I don't have cooties?"

"Because Brittany kissed you yesterday at school, remember?" Lucy said. Brittany blushed, and Kurt groaned. He remembered all right.

They were all sitting on the rug while Mr. Shoe told them the story of Even Steven and Odd Todd and out of the blue Brittany had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Rachel's hand had shot into the air as she squeaked, "Mr. Shoe! Brittany kissed Kurt!" And the class erupted into giggles.

Kurt stood up and said, "Well, cooties or not, I'm going to play with Blaine, Artie and Mike because they look like they're having more fun than just sitting on the grass." Sam looked over at the trampoline where the 3 other boys were jumping and sword fighting with sticks and decided that it looked like fun as well. He smiled at Tina and tugged her over with him.

Annie Cohen-Chang and Judy Evans watched their children holding hands and smiled. Lori Chang, Heather Abrams and Gloria Anderson had run over to take the sticks out of the jumping boys' hands before they caused permanent damage

"Can they stay this young forever?" Judy asked.

"Sometimes I hope so, and sometimes I just want her to grow up," Annie laughed.

"Yeah, but them growing up means we're getting old," Heather Abrams interjected as she sat down. "And I have no idea how I'm going to keep up with him the older he gets." The fit woman looked down at her body.

"I'd kill to have a body like yours," Judy told her reassuringly.

"You should come with me to the aerobics class Susan Pierce teaches!" Heather exclaimed. Susan turned her head at the mention of her name.

"You all should come!" she laughed. "Not that you're in bad shape. I just need more young people. Some of the elderly women who come make me cranky." All the mothers laughed.

"MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!" a voice yelled out like a siren and all the women looked up. Finn Hudson came hurtling over to them. Carol Hudson strode over to her son and caught him as he slammed into her legs.

"What's wrong, honey?" she said trying to check for any scratches or bruises. The other women huddled around the two.

"I'm hungry," he said simply. She sighed in exasperation, and the women backed off slightly and looked up to see if their own children were giving hungry signs.

"Honey, you had me worried that something bad had happened. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Just my tummy because the food monster is clawing to get some nom noms," the boy grinned crookedly. Carol laughed and hugged him tight.

"Mr. Berry and Mr. Anderson are uncovering the hot food as we speak. Let's go find some plates." Finn looked over his shoulder at Noah who gave him a thumbs up. Finn returned the hand gesture and followed his mom over to the table to pick out some chicken fingers and watermelon.

He sat down at a table with Noah, Matt, Mike, Blaine, Artie, and Kurt who each had similar plates laid out in front of them. The boys all leaned in close to each other to hear Noah whisper, "Operation Sugar successful!" They all took a long sip from the straws in their punch cups and sighed at the taste of sugar. "Now it's a party!" Noah added as the boys high-fived.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Does the length make up for the delay? I hope so. I had a lot going on, and this kind of fell to the backburner. Thank you for the reviews and alerts!**


End file.
